Californians Favor Curbs on Local Control

A new survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found that 57 percent of likely voters — and 62 percent of all adults — favor a policy that would force local governments to allow denser development “near mass transit and job centers,” reports CalMatters. “That includes half of all the homeowners surveyed, a powerful constituency in the Capitol who are often presumed to oppose zoning reform,” CalMatters wrote. Unfortunately, state legislators often got their starts in local government and have shown little inclination to curb local control. In other housing related findings, 61 percent favor requiring local governments to approve new housing before receiving transportation funding. But nearly a quarter of those surveyed had no opinion on whether the state should reduce state regulations by changing CEQA, a significantly larger percentage than those who expressed no view on the other housing questions. The non-profit, non-partisan PPIC conducts regular polls that measure Californians’ views on a variety of subjects. Click HERE to view the latest poll report.